Thursday, May 14, 2009

Before and after pictures

Here's what I looked like before I became a healthy vegan. I was 45 years old, and ate the Standard American Diet.























I looked okay, but I always felt like a dork, to be honest. More importantly was how I felt, which was not great.

Here's a picture of me and my dad about to embark on an exciting adventure, flying my airplane to Alaska. Whenever I looked at this picture, instead of thinking, "what a great trip!", I thought, "I wish I weren't so dorky. "






















Funnily enough, this one just cracked me up:






















The pants didn't flatter me.

I weighed about 150-155 in those pictures. I'm 5'9". I purchased my first pair of size 16 pants in Spring 2005, and thought that was just a natural part of aging. Then I became vegetarian for environmental reasons, and secretly because I didn't want to eat animals (I barely admitted that to myself). I learned more about animal suffering and became vegan in July 2005. I lost weight over the next year, and felt better, which caused me to investigate this surprising result, and I discovered the unbelievable health benefits of eating a mostly vegan whole foods diet through websites like Drs. McDougall, Fuhrman, and Barnard. Here's a post describing how my health improved. So, as I mentioned in some other posts, I discovered the route to health by accident!

Now I just turned 49 and I weigh 120 lbs. I do wonder if that's a little low for my height but it is stable, and I have never had much muscle mass even though I've always enjoyed physical activity.

Here's the tired and weakling vegan:






















Here's me at White Sands National Monument on our recent vacation. The wind was blowing really strong.






















Another vacation picture:






















In a furniture store last fall modeling our new bench.






















At Dr. Fuhrman's Healthy Getaway in Florida with Gail. She told me to post the bikini picture but that would really be embarrassing:



13 comments:

Strix said...

Hey, you look awesome, barb! Whoo Hoo! You're lucky to have these B & A pics to look back on. You look fit as well!

kneecap said...

yeah, as my health returned, my desired for physical activity increased, and I joined a gym that makes me do all kinds of crazy things I never thought I could do. plus there's the wonderful world of yoga. :)

Melt86 said...

WOW! what a turn around - as they say, the proof is in the [vegan] pudding!

Picks Over Peas said...

Do you realize you actually look younger now than 4 years ago? What a difference! You look great!!

kneecap said...

ha, it's hard to imagine a better compliment than that. Yeah, people are surprised when they find out I'm 49 years old. It helps that I don't have much grey hair. But those are starting to come in. :)

sgltrxfem said...

WHERE'S THE PIC FROM FLORIDA IN YOUR BIKINI????????

kneecap said...

ummm, well I look fit in that picture but I don't look sexy. I'm not a good poser...but I'll add the picture of you and me...

donnavn said...

I am just beginning my journey to better health and these photos are so inspiring! I've always hesitated to change my diet so dramatically because I didn't know what to make, so thank you for this blog!

kneecap said...

Hi donnavn, yes, the changes are dramatic, but so are the results! It's so worth it. Plus, you know what, I think this might start catching on with more and more people. You are just the first wave. Go for it!

-barb

toughchick said...

Wow! You look great. What a positive change. I like the idea of getting older but feeling younger.

kneecap said...

It's like the fountain of youth!

NancyO said...

Besides looking fit and trim you look happier in your recent photos. You're an inspiration to me! Thanks again for this blog.

kneecap said...

HI Nancy, you're right, I am much happier. I feel better, look better, and enjoy life more! Thanks for your comments!